Hard-to-define Events (HTDE) Workshop

I just found out that the workshop I am trying to organize for Artificial Life XIII on hard-to-define phenomena was accepted by the program committee. Hard-to-define events are events in a complex system that set up major transitions or obvious features. Signatures of hard-to-define events are related to natural fluctuations, embedded patterns, and rare events of large magnitude. Unlike the underlying patterns and information revealed by machine learning techniques, hard-to-define techniques require alternative approaches not yet formalized.

It should be a good session, but I need to procure a lineup of participants. I am currently recruiting people to present their work in the context of hard-to-define events: the plan is to think about how one's research might involve hard-to-define events, and then consider how we might design analytical tools and/or measurement techniques to discover them.

I am interested in having people participate from any number of fields. Of particular interest is how this idea might apply to the biological, cognitive, and social sciences. I have launched a webpage devoted to the latest news on the session. Please check it out, and if you are interested in participating contact me for more information. If you are in the Midwest on the weekend of July 19-22, you should try to attend (see previous blog post for more information).